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Ticketmaster L.L.C. v. RMG Technologies, Inc.

District Court, C.D. California
2007 WL 2988403, 507 F.Supp.2d 1096 (2007)
ELI5:

Rule of Law:

Using a website in violation of its express Terms of Use exceeds the scope of the non-exclusive license granted to users, and such unauthorized use, which necessarily involves making temporary copies of the website's copyrighted pages in a computer's RAM, constitutes copyright infringement.


Facts:

  • Ticketmaster LLC operates a copyrighted website, ticketmaster.com, to sell event tickets to the public.
  • The website features 'Terms of Use' that all visitors agree to by using the site. These terms prohibit commercial use, the use of automated devices like 'robots' or 'spiders', and making excessive server requests (more than one per three seconds).
  • Ticketmaster employs a technological security measure known as CAPTCHA, which is designed to distinguish human users from automated computer programs and prevent bots from purchasing tickets.
  • RMG Technologies, Inc. developed and sold software applications, including the 'Ticket Broker Acquisition Tool' (TBAT), specifically designed to enable users to bypass Ticketmaster's CAPTCHA security.
  • RMG's software allowed its clients, primarily ticket brokers, to use automated 'workers' to search for and purchase large quantities of tickets for commercial resale, far exceeding the limits in the Terms of Use.
  • Clients of RMG used the software to make hundreds of thousands of automated ticket requests in a single day, actions impossible for a human user to perform manually.
  • RMG advertised its product as featuring 'stealth technology' that helps users 'hide your IP address, so you never get blocked by Ticketmaster.'

Procedural Posture:

  • Ticketmaster LLC filed a First Amended Complaint against RMG Technologies, Inc. in U.S. District Court on June 25, 2007.
  • The complaint alleged eleven causes of action, including copyright infringement, violations of the DMCA, and breach of contract.
  • On August 27, 2007, Ticketmaster filed a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction, seeking to stop RMG's allegedly illegal activities pending a full trial.
  • RMG filed its opposition to the motion on September 17, 2007.
  • The court held a hearing on the motion on October 15, 2007.

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Issue:

For the purpose of granting a preliminary injunction, does a company's development and sale of automated software designed to circumvent a website's security measures and violate its Terms of Use likely constitute direct and contributory copyright infringement, a violation of the DMCA, and a breach of contract?


Opinions:

Majority - Collins, District Judge

Yes. The development and sale of automated software designed to circumvent a website's security and violate its Terms of Use likely constitutes copyright infringement and other violations. The website’s Terms of Use create a limited, non-exclusive license for users to view and copy pages for personal use. By accessing the site for prohibited commercial purposes and using automated devices in direct violation of these terms, RMG exceeded the scope of this license, making the necessary RAM copies of the website's pages an act of direct copyright infringement. Furthermore, by designing and marketing a tool specifically to enable its clients to infringe Ticketmaster's copyright, RMG is liable for contributory infringement. RMG's software also violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) because it is a technology designed primarily to circumvent a technological measure (CAPTCHA) that controls access to a copyrighted work. Finally, the Terms of Use constitute an enforceable contract which RMG breached by violating its explicit prohibitions.



Analysis:

This case solidifies the legal principle that a website's Terms of Use can establish an enforceable, limited license for the use of its copyrighted content. The court's decision confirms that exceeding the scope of this license through automated means, such as bots or scrapers, constitutes copyright infringement, not just a simple breach of contract. This provides a powerful legal tool for website operators against unauthorized automated access and data harvesting. The ruling also affirms that security features like CAPTCHA are considered 'technological measures' protected under the DMCA, making it illegal to traffic in tools designed to circumvent them.

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